Trial of Van der Sloot begins in Peru as shamans peform a 'spiritual punishment' on him

Peruvian shamans perform a ritual of spiritual punishment for Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot before his hearing before court at the Lurigancho prison in Lima on Jan. 6. The trial gets started in Lima for the Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot, accused of killing a young Peruvian woman in 2010 and who also is a suspect in the disappearance years earlier of an American woman in the Caribbean.

Joran van der Sloot has been in the news since 2005, when he became a suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Exactly five years after Holloway disappeared, he allegedly killed Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru. His trial for the killing of Flores begins today.

AP reports:

Van der Sloot, 24, is charged with killing 21-year-old Stephany Flores in his Lima hotel room on May 30, 2010, after the two left a casino together in the day's wee hours.

The slaying happened five years to the day after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, a 19-year-old from Alabama who was celebrating her high school graduation on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba and was seen leaving a nightclub with Van der Sloot. Her body has never been found.

Authorities say Van der Sloot confessed to killing Flores, claiming he became enraged after she discovered his connection to Holloway. Read the complete story.

Watch the video below for more information and footage of his confession to police.

Paolo Aguilar / EPA

Joran Van der Sloot enters the courtroom at the Lurigancho prison for the trial against him over robbery and alleged assassination of Peruvian Stephanie Flores in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 6.

Joran Van der Sloot, best known as the prime suspect in the disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba five years ago, goes on trial Friday for the murder of a young woman in Peru. NBC's Lilia Luciano reports.